A mom from Arizona is going viral for her unconventional approach to how she raises her kids.
Aubrey Matthesius (@aubreymatthesius) revealed in a clip on TikTok how she’s raising “low-maintenance babies,” going back to basics rather than adopting rigid routines.
“To me, raising low maintenance babies means not over complicating things,” the 27-year-old told Newsweek. “I think we get so tied up… in mom guilt and fear-based parenting that we allow our anxiety to override our common sense when it comes to raising babies.”
Matthesius outlined three key components in her clip which included allowing trusted people to hold her baby—such as a babysitter—enabling him to become more adaptable.
Secondly, rather than structuring her life around naptimes, Matthesius taught her baby to sleep in different rooms around the house.
“He learned to sleep in his car seat at Starbucks with me; he learned to sleep in the car; he learned to sleep wherever I went so that we all could leave the house and have our freedom,” she said. “These simple shifts allow you to not be a slave to motherhood, but to enjoy it.”
Matthesius is also clear that motherhood shouldn’t rest solely on one person. “You can allow other people to come in and help and support,” she said in her video.
When she was younger, Matthesius told Newsweek that she never imagined having children.
“I watched so many people overcomplicate parenthood on social media and it scared me away from it for many years,” she said. “I wanted to be a corporate girl and saw motherhood as a miserable life until I became one.”
The concept of raising low maintenance babies came from Matthesius’ exposure to different parenting styles among her friendship group.
She noticed differences in parenting styles between herself and her friends after becoming a mom.
“Depending on whose advice you listen to, it’s going to impact your philosophy on parenting,” she told Newsweek. “Very quickly, I realized my kid was more low maintenance than other kids, and less anxious because chill moms raise chill babies.”
Matthesius wants to shift the view that online exposure makes parenting harder. She was concerned about getting pushback from internet users but her most recent clip pinned to her profile, which has received 1 million views, was met with positivity.
“Say it louder!” one user wrote.
“It’s so wild to me that this isn’t normal parenting,” another commented.
Many others agreed that adjusting their baby’s life to fit theirs was the best parenting advice.
“I do my best to listen to the facts, let go of my mom guilt, and do what is best for mom, baby and the family as a whole,” Matthesius said. “My goal is to help people get back to the basics of motherhood so that they don’t miss out on the joy that it can be.”
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